Maintenance Cases backlog in Bloemfontein
Triage - separating simple and complex cases
Finalisation Rate | Maintenance cases | Triage | Reducing case backlog | Bloemfontein
Context
Maintenance has been identified as a necessary component of any effort to fight GBVF. The Bloemfontein court deals with about 300 cases per month, which is about 15-20 cases per court day. Because new cases are added every day, the finalisation rate will fluctuate. The goal was to have each case finalised within 30 days. Before the 100-days, on average, only 51% of the cases were finalised within a month; this finalisation rate was also the reason for the backlog, with some cases being older than 6 months.
Insights from the team
- A few complex cases were clogging the system. Handling these in a separate queue created system efficiencies.
- Only add cases that were ready for court to the court roll.
- Court clerk plays a critical role in system efficiency, they need to be trained and empowered.
- Initially, there was resistance based on fairness – we cannot jump the queue, etc. but we had to reassure people that the triage would speed up the process for all cases.
Mangaung Metropolitan
Free State
100-Days
1 April to 9 July 2022
Contact
Ambassador – Adv. Joyce Mokoena
Results achieved
After 100-Days the team achieved a 74% finalised rate on maintenance cases and backlog was reduced by 82%
